Taxco & North American Silver
Turquoise Native American Cuff Bracelet, 1960s
Price: £95
This is a very striking bracelet comprising a puzzle work of large turquoise stones. Please note: this bracelet does not adjust and is made for quite a small wrist. Please only consider if your wrist is 6 inches or less. It is marked Sterling 925. The maker is not certain but it has the look of a Zuni piece from New Mexico.
Taxco Mayan Sundial earrings, c1980
Price: £25
This is a lovely and delicate pair of stud earrings that depict a Mayan sundial, They are marked Mexico 925.
Taxco bracelet with rivet details c1980
Price: £85
This is an outstanding bracelet that feature heavy stations of silver set with brass rivet decoration. It boasts a typical box clasp that is also set with this rivet detail. This motif is quite rare. It is marked TM-79 Mexico 925
Taxco Fish Brooch c1940
Price: £25
This is very delicate small silver brooch that depicts a charming and cheerful fish. It has a textured surface and the eyelashes are detailed. It is marked with a maker's monogram 'JG' or possibly 'GG' and in addition there is an "Eagle" mark '3' below the words 'Heche en Mexico', indicating a dating to the 1940s.
Sweet Taxco heart bracelet c1980
Price: £75
This a very lovely bracelet comprising a heavy sliver bangle style bracelet that has a heart at the centre. It is very sturdy and elegant at the same time. It is marked 925 TC-02 Mexico.. The TC number indicates the silversmith and the TC indicates Taxco.
Classic Taxco cuff bracelet, c1980
Price: £75
This is a striking bracelet in a typical Taxco diamond design. It is a cuff shape so brilliant for most wrists and easy to wear. It is marked Mexico TF-15 925. This mark indicates the Taxco silversmith.
Taxco silver elephant cuff bracelet c1970
Price: £85
This is an incredibly fine bracelet that features mother elephants and their babies. It is 3 dimensional with so much detail. Although it does not bear any makers mark it is most likely from the Taxco region due to the quality of the silver and the type of work. It is marked 925. There are times when due to the silver work there is no room for a makers mark so they leave it off. This seems to be the case here.
Native American Zuni silver cuff bracelet c1970
Price: £125
This is a stunning bracelet made by Zuni silversmiths in the area of New Mexico. It comprises a large mosaic of turquoise, mother of pearl and coral that is indicative of Zuni design and work. This mosaic is set into a silver halo of a flower and leaves, also a typical design. It is marked Sterling 925
Pair of Navajo Kingman turquiose earrings, signed, 1970s
Price: £65
This pair of earrings boasts 10 large cabachons of Kingman turquoise. The Kingman mine located in Arizona, is the last commercial turquoise mine in the US. It is known for its intense colour and unique matrix. These earring where produced by a Navaho silver maker. They are signed MJ which indicates the specific workshop. Marked Sterling for 925 silver.
Hopi Thunderbird brooch 1960s
Price: £45
This is a large substantial brooch that depicts a typical Hopi thunderbird design. In Native American mythology, the thunderbird is a powerful spirit in the form of a bird. By its work, the earth was watered and vegetation grew. Lightning was believed to flash from its beak, and the beating of its wings was thought to represent the rolling of thunder.(source : Britannica) It is signed with a monogram 'CA'. Marked Sterling for 925 silver
Taxco suite of necklace and earrings, malachite and onyx stations, 1990s
Price: £250
This is a quite rare suite of necklace and earrings that come from the Taxco region of Mexico. Both comprise stations of malachite and onyx that go all the way around each piece. The stations are each individually hinged which gives these pieces a fluidity and quality that only comes from the Taxco workshops. Both have the typical box clasp and are marked 'TN-57' 'Mexico' '925'. The TN number indicates the workshop although there is no definitive list regarding the numbers attached and an exact provenance cannot be determined.
Taxco silver bangle with onyx and sodalite mosaic decoration, 1990s
Price: £75
This is a beautiful bangle comprising a very heavy and thick band of silver set with sodalite and onyx in an inlay mosaic design. It has a typical push closure and is marked 'TS-98' '925' 'Mexico'. The TS letters stand for the specific workshop in the Taxco region but here is no definitive list of the numbers attached, so an exact provenance is difficult to determine.
Zuni suite of necklace and earrings, New Mexico, 1990s
Price: £95
This is a suite of earrings and necklace by the Zuni silversmiths of New Mexico. They are known for their detailed mosaic work incorporating many different types of stone. Here we have mosaics on both the earrings and the pendant with turquoise, lapis, onyx and coral stones. There are also dangling feathers attached which is again typical of Zuni design. The chain is in a basket weave pattern and marked' 925'.
Modernist Taxco brooch 1980s
Price: £45
This is a lovely and substantial brooch that is fashioned in a stylised bow design. It could also be worn as a pendant. It is marked 'TC-132' 'Mexico' ' 925'. The TC letters stand for the specific workshop in the Taxco region but here is no definitive list of the numbers attached, so an exact provenance is difficult to determine.
Navajo suite of Necklace and Earrings set with sleeping beauty turquoise, 1990s
Price: £250
This is a beautiful and high quality suite of a silver necklace and matching earrings set with ‘Sleeping Beauty’ turquoise. The necklace has three linked stations employing the overlay technique of building up different layers on the design, which represents flying eagles against a background of stylised clouds. Both the necklace and earrings are fitted with bright blue turquoise bead drops, the purity and colour of the stone indicating a provenance from the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ mine, located in Globe, Arizona, which was the only source for turquoise of this type and closed in 2012 enhancing the rarity of the stone today. For many years it was extremely popular among Native American artists, particularly from the Zuni Pueblo region.
The Navajo are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States with the largest reservation in the country, mainly concentrated in Arizona and New Mexico. Their silverwork, which they began to produce in the late C19th, came to enjoy great popularity and often employed the use of turquoise. This matching suite is an excellent example of their work. The necklace is marked ‘Sterling’ for 925 silver and the same material would have been used throughout, providing a perfect backdrop to the ‘sleeping beauties’.
Suite of Taxco - necklace, bracelet and earrings c1960
Price: £475
This is an outstanding suite of jewellery made in the Taxco silver district in Mexico. It comprises graduating fine links of turquoise and silver. Both the necklace and bracelet of a fluidity that shows the beautiful quality of this jewellery. It bears the Birmingham assay import mark and initials LR presumably for the company that imported it to the UK. It also is marked 925. There are no Mexican hallmarks although the origin of these pieces is not in doubt. The necklace and bracelet have the signature box clasp and each is fitted with a safety chain.
Outstanding Taxco silver bracelet c1960
Price: £295
This is a heavy and substantial bracelet made in the style of William Spratling (1900-1967) the father of Taxco who opened his workshop there, Taller de las Delicias, in the early 1930s . His designs continued to dominate the Taxco silver districts of Mexico and this piece is an excellent example of this. Its design elements reflect the Art Deco styles of the 1930s and 40s that are softened by the scroll work. This bracelet is marked 'Mexico', '925', 'C-11'. C-11 is the registration number of the silversmith and all Taxco silversmiths had these registration numbers. It has a very sturdy integrated clasp.
Mexican silver dolphin bangle bracelet c1990
Price: £65
This bracelet has a fun depiction of a dolphin in the ocean with the sun and waves. It is marked Mexico 925.
Taxco brooch with abalone shell c1950
Price: £20
This is a very striking brooch comprising a central abalone stone surrounded by leaves made of crushed lapis. It is marked on reverse Taxco with an illegible "eagle" mark. It also has bail so could be used as a pendant.
Mexican Silver Bolo Tie with Aztec mask Head, Taxco, c1950
Price: £125
The word ‘bolo’ derives from ‘boleadora’, an Argentine or Uruguayan lariat or lasso and is used to describe this semi formal type of neckwear in which a cord is held together by a medallion of some sort so that it can be draped around the neck. Mexican silversmiths working at Taxco, the artistic centre of Mexican silver production, produced versions of the bolo in which the medallion is in the form of a hardstone mask head set in silver. In common with many, this piece has an aventurine hardstone face in the form of an Aztec mask framed by an elaborate silver headdress. Through this runs a black cord with silver tips at each end. The mask is stamped at the back ‘925’ ‘TAXCO’ ‘Cheo’ ‘MEXICO’ with an eagle mark 185 at the top left. Dating is most likely to the 1950s. The bolo was regarded as semi formal wear for a man but can equally, or even better, serve a decorative piece of neckwear for a lady with a distinct hint of South American style.
Mexican Silver Bracelet with Aztec Designs, Taxco, 1950s
Price: £65
This is a fine example of a ‘classic’ bracelet design produced by the Mexican silversmiths working at Taxco, the artistic centre of Mexican silver production. The bracelet comprises four curved rectangles of silver joined with hinges and terminating in a square push clap. When assembled the pieces form a circular bracelet which sits snugly on the wrist. Each piece has an engraved design employing Aztec motifs, so often a source for decoration on Taxco jewellery, key pattern between a triangular and a stylised floral motif on a ground etched to imitate stone. The square clasp is stamped at the back with a diamond tablet with the characters ‘GURDO925’‘FP’ and an eagle mark 4. Dating is most likely to the 1950s. FP is the Taxco silversmith who would have been active in the 1940s and 50s based on this eagle mark.
Outstanding Taxco silver and abalone Bangle c1980
Price: £200
This is a striking and large Taxco bangle that has been expertly set with curved abalone pieces and has a typical hinge and spring closure so that it is easy to get on and fits any wrist. It is marked 'TH-105', the Taxco silversmith reg number, 'Mexico' '925'.
Zuni turquoise silver pendant Necklace, modern
Price: £35
This is a delicate necklace with a pendant designed in the Native American Zuni style of fine inlay. It has the silversmiths initials 'RK' on the reverse together with '925'. It is combined with a strong box chain that is not original to the pendant.